The draw for the first round of women’s football competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympics took place on Wednesday, revealing the initial matchups for the highly anticipated event.
The draw produced a clash between the reigning world champion, Spain, and Brazil, as well as pitting Germany against the United States.
The results of the draw, held at Le Bourget building in the suburb of Saint-Denis in the French capital, Paris, are as follows:
Group 1: France, Colombia, Canada, and New Zealand. Group 2: United States, Zambia or Morocco, Germany, Australia. Group 3: Spain, Japan, Nigeria or South Africa, Brazil.
Spain’s national team caused a sensation by winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand last summer, marking their first-ever title victory with a 1-0 win over England in the final.
In contrast, Brazil bowed out of the World Cup early in the group stage, a fate shared by Germany, the two-time champions, who are looking to regain their prominence in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The 12 participating teams were divided into 3 groups, with 4 teams in each group.
The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the knockout stages, starting from the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-placed teams from the three groups.
Ten teams have secured their spots in the women’s football competitions at the Paris Olympics, pending representatives from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as the final round of African qualifiers for the Olympic Games takes place next month.
The Moroccan women’s national team will face Zambia, while South Africa will play against Nigeria.
The women’s football competitions at the Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 25 to August 10, 2024, across various cities including Paris, Marseille, Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, and Bordeaux.
